Former Newcastle star 'fine' after quadruple bypass operation

Ross Robertson

David Ginola declared himself "fine" on Friday after regaining consciousness following a quadruple heart bypass operation overnight.

A tweet from Ginola's account said he had "never slept better" after his dramatic collapse while playing football on Thursday.

The 49-year-old former Newcastle and Tottenham winger was attending a celebrity golf tournament in Mandelieu on the French Riviera.

He was taken to the Monaco Cardio-Thoracic Centre, where he was operated on by Professor Gilles Dreyfus.

Professor Dreyfus, quoted in local newspaper Var-Matin, clarified Ginola had not suffered a heart attack but said the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart had been affected.

"He arrived in a catastrophic state," the surgeon said. "He was unconscious and did not remember anything.

"But it is going well. I have been able to talk to him. He does not show any neurological after-effects.

"He did not have a heart attack but he had very complicated coronary lesions which required us to perform a quadruple bypass. We began the operation at 1900 and finished between 0100 and 0130 (local time, from 1800 to between midnight and 0030 BST)."

A tweet from Ginola's account then read: "Hello world, never slept better. I'm fine, just need to rest a bit. Thank you so much all of you for your magnificent support."

Ginola won 17 caps for France and also had spells at Aston Villa and Everton before his retirement in 2002.